At the April 26, 2016, City Council Meeting, staff provided information on the current Municipal Code requirements for front yard landscaping and paving. The City Council directed staff to suspend the enforcement of Garden Grove Municipal Code Section 9.08.040.050(J) which requires “All unpaved areas shall be planted with an effective combination of trees, grass, berms, ground-cover, lawn, shrubbery and/or approved dry decorative landscape material.”  City Council also directed staff to take other action to amend or modify the minimum landscape percentage in the front yard area.

The City of Garden Grove is committed to the preservation and improvement of the City’s residential neighborhoods. In an effort to maintain high quality neighborhoods and maintain property values, the City Council has adopted a number of property maintenance standards that have been codified in the Garden Grove Municipal Code.

In February 2014, in an effort to support water conservation and at the direction of City Council, Code Enforcement Officers stopped issuing notices and citations for browning lawns.  Since that time, there has been an increasing number of homeowners who are replacing all or most of their required front yard landscaping with crushed rock, cement pavers and/or concrete paving.  While crushed stone, cement pavers and concrete are not, in and of themselves, a violation of the Municipal Code, they are a violation if they are used to the exclusion of plant material and cover more than 50% of the required front yard.

Staff surveyed neighboring cities and desert cities to determine the minimum amount of required front yard landscaping.  Here are the results:

Several Municipal Codes address front yard landscaping requirements:

• 9.08.040.050(D)(1) requires “The maximum permitted percentage of hardscape coverage in the front yard setback….shall be 50%...”

• 9.08.040.050(J) requires “All unpaved areas shall be planted with an effective combination of trees, grass, berms, ground-cover, lawn, shrubbery and/or approved dry decorative landscape material.”

• 9.08.030(G) requires “Landscaping in the required front yard shall cover no less than 50% of that yard.” 

There is no financial impact.

It is recommended that the City Council:

• Staff maintain the current codes GGMC 9.08.040.050(D)(1) and GGMC 9.08.030(G) as these codes are consistent with neighboring cities; and

• GGMC 9.08.040.050(J) be interpreted to allow trees, grass, berms, ground-cover, lawn, shrubbery or dry decorative landscape material (such as crushed stone or pavers) in the required front yard landscaping area and not require a combination of any of those materials.

By:  Allison Mills, Manager, Neighborhood Improvement and Code Enforcement